Windows 8 Tops 10 Percent, Still Behind XP

More than 10 percent of global PCs are now running Windows 8, but Microsoft's new operating system still has a long way to go to catch up to its predecessor.

More than 10 percent of global PCs are now running Windows 8, but Microsoft's new operating system still has a long way to go to catch up to its predecessor.

In December, Windows 8 market share hit 6.89 percent while Windows 8.1 was at 3.6 percent, or 10.49 percent in total, according to data from Net Applications. That's up slightly from November, which put Windows 8 and 8.1 at 9.3 percent of the market.

Between November and December, Windows 8 actually dropped slightly from 6.89 percent to 6.66 percent, while Windows 8.1, the newer version of the OS picked up steam, from 2.64 percent to 3.6 percent.

At this point, however, Windows 7 still reigns supreme at 47.52 percent of global OS market share, up slightly from 46.64 in November.
Windows XP lands at No. 2 with 28.98 percent (down from 31.22 percent) - four months before Microsoft plans to end support for the aging OS.

Vista is clinging to life at No. 4 with 3.61 percent, but Windows 8 at least outpaces that unpopular OS. Apple's latest, OS X 10.9, has about 2.79 percent of the market, up from 2.42 percent the month before.

When it comes to mobile gadgets, meanwhile, iOS was the top operating system in December with 54.27 percent, followed by Android at 35.41 percent. Apple's share got a boost from the iPad, which made up 31.29 percent of that traffic, followed by the iPhone at 22.36 percent. Android 4.1 is the most popular version of Google's mobile OS at 13.29 percent.

Chloe Albanesius has been with PCMag.com since April 2007, most recently as Executive Editor for News and Features. Prior to that, she worked for a year covering financial IT on Wall Street for Incisive Media. From 2002 to 2005, Chloe covered technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from American University...
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